Tom Quinn, the Giants' special teams coordinator, faces a pivotal training camp. The Giants have open competitions for kickoff returner -- David Wilson, who led a strong unit last season could be pulled if he is the Giants' starting running back -- punt returner and place kicker, where the departure of Lawrence Tynes, a reliable veteran, has spurred a competition between Josh Brown and David Buehler. Quinn is seeking improvement from the punt return unit, which ranked 30th in the NFL last season with an average of 7.2 yards on 20 return attempts, the fewest in the league. The Giants' longest return last season, 18 yards, was also an NFL low. The following is a transcript of Quinn's discussion with reporters today outside the Timex Performance Center in East Rutherford, where the Giants concluded a three-day minicamp.

Is there an open competition at punt returner and kick returner this offseason?

It’s an open competition. There are two or three guys back there that we really like, which one who will rise up and take the job we still need to see. Once we get into the preseason and get live reps at it, we’ll see what comes.

If David Wilson grows into a bigger role in the offense, will he still be in consideration as a kickoff returner?

I think you have to. We’ll see how it all plays out. Obviously, he’d like to do it. He’s done it very. We’ll have to see how it all comes down, where he is on the depth chart and what he’s doing on offense. We might need him for one or two or we might not. We have other guys we feel good about in the scheme and for the system that is in place.
Who are the other candidates besides Wilson?

Rueben Randle is another guy that we’re excited about. Jerrel Jernigan is another guy. There are a bunch of guys who could do the job if it’s not David.

Not necessarily. They’re both similar with kickoffs. The biggest thing is the operation between the snap, the hold and the kick. That’s what we really wanted to work on this spring -- getting better with that.

Is it different during the competition for punt and kickoff return duties to get enough reps for all the candidates?

We get a lot of practice reps. So if it’s against our own punt team or against our punt return team or kickoff or kickoff return, we’ll get the reps throughout training camp in practice. From there we’ll see who deserves it in the preseason games.

So practice becomes that much more important?

Very much so.

Has either Josh Brown or David Buehler separated himself in the placekicker competition?

They’re competing right now. They’ve shown some good things. We’re looking for consistency out of that position. Lawrence (Tynes) was consistent and did a nice job. We’re looking for that. And how well they kick off after that -- that’s a big factor.

Video: Giants head coach Tom Coughlin sums up mini-campAfter an abbreviated practice due to the weather, New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said he is pleased with the progress during OTAs and mini-camp and stressed the importance of continuing to work hard because training camp is only a few weeks away. Video by John Munson/The Star-Ledger

Is it too much for Wilson to handle kickoff returns plus and expanded role in the offense?

You want to lead me down that question? I dont’ think it’s too much, but I’m not making all of the decisions. There are other guys who have done both -- either as a punt returner and a starter or kickoff returner and starter. It’s how it all plays out. If you have someone just as good and the blocking is just as good and they can hit the hole then that’d be the guy. That guy would have to be very good. That was a good unit last year. That was a good team effort, too.

Is Aaron Ross a candidate to return punts?

Yeah. He’s someone that is probably one of the cleanest catching the ball. There is a lot of faith with him back there. But that is something -- we need to create more field position for our offense with our punt return game. The last couple years, when Domenik (Hixon) was doing it earlier -- in 2008 or ‘09 -- we were more productive. But we need to get more production out of that punt return unit. That was a big focus for us all the way across the board -- with the scheme and the technique and also the returner.